London's Future Airport Could Float On The Thames

The debate over how to prepare London for rising air traffic has
been going on for several years, and shows no signs of
concluding.

The Department
for Transport estimates that demand for air travel in South
East England will rise to 300 million passengers per year by
2030. Current demand is 127 million.

There are two basic proposals: the addition of a third runway at
London Heathrow Airport, and the construction of a new airport.

Last year, architecture firm Foster + Partners
created an ambitious design for an airport on the end of the
Thames Estuary, complete with a new flood barrier and high speed
rail hub. London Mayor Boris Johnson supports the plan so
enthusiastically, it has been dubbed "Boris Island."

I don’t think you can rely on Heathrow. Even if the Government
was so mad and wrong to try to do the third runway or mixed-mode
(mixing take-offs and landings on the same runways), those
solutions would rapidly run out of usefulness and time.

But "Boris Island" has drawn criticism. Paul Griffiths, the
British CEO of Dubai Airports, called it "unfundable." He
told the Evening Standard:

Heathrow needs to be expanded now because of the immediate
pressure on growth. Maybe Boris island is the solution for the
future but I don’t think it is possible to build it in time.
You’ve got all the expense of investing in that project without
the productivity arising from it and at the same time you are
forcing airports in the London system to become ex growth.

As the debate between the ideas continues, another, more daring,
proposal has entered the fray: a floating airport on the waters
of the estuary.

Gensler, an American firm, argues that the floating project,
dubbed London Britannia Airport, is a "completely new approach"
that will allow for expansion and minimize disruption to London
residents.

Griffith's "unfundable" comment did not refer to the Gensler
proposal, but a floating airport proposal would certainly face
such criticism.

As well as improved passenger capacity, developers of a new or
revamped airport must consider the impact on carbon emissions.

Gensler's floating airport
seen from the air.vyonyx for
Gensler

Prime Minister David
Cameron pledged in 2010 not to build a third runway at
Heathrow, which Theresa Villiers, then the British minister of
state for transport, said
would invite an increase in flights that would push the
country over its target carbon emissions.

Gensler says its proposal is "environmentally sensitive," as the
floating airport would eliminate the need for dredging, provide a
"reef-like environment conducive to marine life," and use marine
turbines to generate power.

These points might offset the emissions associated with building
and operating the airport; they do not address those that would
be created by the increase in flights.

No decision will be made will happen in the immediate future. The
UK's Department for Transport has set up a commission to consider
the proposed plans. It will release initial findings next year,
and a final report in 2015.